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Death of a Superhero

A Family's Story about Courage, Bravery and the Defining Moments of LOVE

Our sweet, lil' baby love lost his battle to AML Leukemia on March 8, 2010. We fought long, hard and very aggressively for 2.5 years, only to have his cancer come back for the fourth time to finally take his life. He was only 3 years old.

This entire blog is about Hunter's amazing journey. It's about his life and his love......his determination and his courage.......his absolutely, brilliant personality, and the affect he's had on people all over the world.

He's left an unimaginable footprint on this earth and has changed the lives of thousands of individuals. People who didn't realize how precious life was, now live it with extreme gratefulness. People who took every minute they get to spend with their children for granted, now savor every last second. And people who weren't quite sure what love is all about, now love deeper, love stronger and love with every ounce of their soul.

People all around the world have shared their love, their well wishes, their prayers and their inspiration, and we could have NEVER achieved as much as we did without them. We are humbled by their generosity & their true friendships & are forever grateful for every last person that has come into our lives through our experience with Hunter. He was our precious baby love who we loved and cherished with all our hearts and we are forever crushed and terribly, broken-hearted.

Dance in the clouds baby cakes. Mom & dad are watching proudly & you will remain so very close to our hearts for all of eternity.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Hunter Zen Thawley was diagnosed with AML Leukemia at 14 months. He is now almost 3 and has had to battle this beast for the last 18 months and is now finally coming out of the dark! He just received his Bone Marrow Transplant on June 15th and now has a new "life" that is anxiously awaiting to be lived.

After his transplant, Hunter's family is faced with a huge financial burden in order to provide all that he needs to continue his fight. One of the toughest hurdles has been jumped, however he has a long road to recovery.

Hunter has thousands of supporters all over the world and an event is being held in Buffalo in Hunter's honor to bring some of these supporters together to help celebrate his life and his miraculous achievements.

Please help us by joining us the evening of July 24th at 6pm at the Evergreen Conference Center. The cost of admission is a $25 donation........and it's well worth it!

People all over the world, from Iceland to Belgium to Australia to the United States are supporting Hunter. Join the cause and help us continue Hunter's fight! A $30 donation will reserve an Iron Hunter T-Shirt. Please send an email to Lenore@zentodd.com, text, comment or a Facebook message with your size and we'll contact you to confirm your order!

If you'd like to participate as a Healing Hunter Sponsor or donate an item to the Silent Auction, please send an email to Lenore@Zentodd.com, text, comment or Facebook message with your information and we'll contact you soon!

Hunter and family truly thank everyone for all of the love and continued support.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

I am terribly sorry for not updating sooner...........but I have to tell ya - Hunter has been sooooo much fun and was full of so much energy - that we were being very selfish with our time. We have enjoyed him thoroughly these last two weeks and have witnessed the little boy that we once had before his illness took him away.

We have had some minor ups and downs, but nothing too serious. He's thrown up blood twice, apparently due to low platelets. He thrown up yuck and phlegm in addition to that, due to some nausea. But the docs didn't seem to be too concerned. His poor little butt rash got worse then better, then worse and now it's better again. At one point his poor little rump was so raw he would scream in pain when we gently cleaned him, which causes him to still not be a fan of baths.....so it's a little bit of a struggle to get him into the tub every night.

He has still not eaten any food on his own. It's now been almost 2 months since he's really consumed anything solid. He continues to be fed TPN through his IV. However, he has maintained his weight - which is fantastic.

He's received platelets almost every single day since his transplant and red blood cells here and there. His "new" marrow is not settled and able to make them on their own yet.......so he'll continue to get them for about another 1-3 weeks.

He has started to walk with help from us....but for some reason - he won't put his entire foot onto the floor. He continues to walk on his tippy toes??? Could be some residual soreness from his myositis, could be the fact that he needs to rebuild that strength or he could just be scared. But he's getting physical therapy on a pretty consistent basis, so hopefully he'll be walking again on his own soon.

So far no other infections, no viruses, no toxicity and no organ failure. All good. However, he did start to get fevers three nights ago, (day +10 - post transplant) and they've continued up until this day. He is laying over in his bed next to me and his temperature is about 103 degrees. This could be signs of engraftment, (his "new" marrow taking over), could be the start of a virus or infection or could be the Leukemia. Most likely it's not the Leukemia. But it's never ruled out. If it is indeed the engraftment, the fevers are considered a good thing - but we are just left hanging in the wind until further things start to surface. Because he received a "cord blood" unit for his transplant, engrafting wasn't supposed to start to kick in until about the 3rd week out. Right now we are only on the 2nd week post transplant. So it's a little troubling - but we are trying to remain optimistic.

He has surprised all of the doctors with his performance since his week of radiation, when he was supposed to be going downhill.........Hunter just kept trudging uphill. He has done nothing but improve on a daily basis by leaps and bounds. So they've assumed that he was so "down" when we started the conditioning that he had nowhere else to go except UP.

So now.......once again......we sit and wait and lay by his side. We smooch his body from head to toe and comfort him to no end. He's up and about in between fevers still having a good time - so we enjoy that and entertain him as much as possible.

I went back through and reread my last 5 entries and wow......what an emotional bag of ups and downs. Three good days, one bad, two bad days, four good.......fear, excitement, anger, appreciation, anxiety, sadness.....what a ride. I am still amazed sometimes as I walk through the hospital halls that this is our life. That this is our fight.....that this is defining our livelihood. I feel at peace right now, but I am forever aware that it could change at the drop of a hat. We definitely have gained some very valuable "life" experience through all of this........and that's a good thing........because we still have an incredibly long way to go. Hunter's road to recovery is going to be the next 3 years to a lifetime. But - we are apparently "up" for it..................learned that from Hunter.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

So I don't think Zen was ever expecting this turbulent whirlwind of fear and fate when he became a dad. In fact, I'm quite sure he wasn't. Like myself, he was pretty much expecting smooth sailing......going on lots of vacations.....playing in the park...... and lovin' on his son without him being connected to his overwhelming amount of "life tubes".

Well..........surprise...........fatherhood had something else in store for him.

Right out of the gate, Zen had to immediately show his son courage, he had to display an amazing amount of strength and show him how to fight a raging beast one step at a time, and he had to quickly let Hunter know that he was safe and sound and would do everything in his power to protect him and keep him out of harms way. He has, time and time again, fully embraced Hunter in his arms with sooooo much love and tenderness and you can tell that on this special day, he truly feels honored and forever thankful to have the opportunity to even celebrate Father's Day.

To give you some insight into Zen - he's a realist and his mind works very systematically and logically. He's extremely intelligent and retains more information then I could ever imagine. And, lucky for us, mixed in with all of those great robotic qualities is a human being full of a tremendous amount of love, compassion and genuine care and concern for his family. We're all that matters to him.

Insight into our relationship......between Zen and I, he's the one that will face the fact that we could lose Hunter before I will even let it enter into my mind. He'll allow himself to slightly mentally prepare for a future that might not be what we envisioned. Only to think about us and how we would best survive. He doesn't like, and prefers not to be blind sighted. I, on the other hand, will constantly push for the last hope and will remain somewhat in denial to NOT have to face the future that we might not want to envision. I guess that's how we balance each other out. We are truly the Yin and the Yang. We are interdependent in Hunter's world, and in our world, giving rise to each other and holding one another up in times of despair, devastation and unbearable heartache. I would not have survived this situation as well as I have if I did not have Zen.........and vice versa. We've applauded each others efforts on a daily basis and respect one another for the choices and decisions we have had to make regarding Hunter's life. Together we are the dark and the light.....the sun and the moon.....the brutal truth and the wishful hope......the complimentary opposites within our greater whole.

I must mention and give credit to Zen for a few things: One was the peanut incident. Most of you are already familiar with this.....not a fun time. It was the day Hunter was choking and gasping for air and was not able to breathe. And it didn't only happen once......it happened twice......three times.....and then the final fourth - which seemed like it lasted a lifetime. Instead of putting it in the hands of the doctors and fully relying on them and waiting for them to come in and assess the situation, Zen took matters into his own hands. He hit Hunter on his back with such force, force that I, as a mother, would probably not have done. I would imagine I would have gotten there eventually..........but I don't think it would have been my first instinct. Well, thank god for Zen. He didn't waste a moment......and in that situation......every moment mattered. Zen got the peanut out that was lodged in Hunter's throat on his last and final blow. Air rushed back into Hunter's lungs....and Hunter was, once again...........safe....and alive.

The second was knowing what combination of chemo's to try when Hunter's life was seriously on the line....again. We were about to lose him.......and he was slipping away right before our eyes. And I mean that literally. The Leukemia was killing him. His body had been taken over by his disease quite fiercely, and we were given the option of leaving the hospital to try to enjoy his last days of life in the comfort of our own home. I was not giving up, and I know I would have tried some form of treatment, but I am not sure if I would have pieced together the potent mix of drugs that Zen had suggested during our "Hunter life meeting". That's where it truly showed how he retains and processes information. He suggested the Cytarabine, Mitoxantrone and the Gemtuzumab. Whuuuuut?? I am very familiar with those..........but as we sat there sobbing, holding Hunter.....I can't say my mind would have worked that fast. I was already heading down memory lane with one foot out the door getting ready to scream and fight and claw our way out........somehow. Where as Zen, used his mind, and fought through the clouds of sadness to figure out how we could try one last thing to save Hunter's life. And so far.......it worked. Two for dad.......zero for death.

The third is the herbs. He's done mass amounts of research and has connected with another father to make sure that Hunter's life remains as safe as possible from this deadly disease once we leave the hospital. The herbs can keep Hunter's disease at bay if, in fact, it decides to come back. Unfortunately.......even with Hunter's bone marrow transplant - there's a 90% chance that his Leukemia will return. I'm not saying that we are back to believing and putting all our faith into numbers - but we are facing the fact that Hunter's Leukemia is the most aggressive one out there and it's got a fight in it much like ours. But for whatever reason - we now feel stronger and we are "one-up" on this beast and we are always going to try to stay one step, two steps, one huge leap ahead. His cancer is constantly lurking over our shoulders and we are going to run our asses off to make sure it doesn't pass us by and come after Hunter again. We'll keep him alive on mushroom & cur cumin sandwiches and green tea if we have to. Fine by us. We're ready and armed and have the power and intensity to guard our little man within our walls of love. Nothing is stronger and nothing will beat us.

So.........Happy Father's day my love. You've earned it, you deserve it and Hunter and I could not be more fortunate or more proud. You've saved Hunter's life time and time again as if it was your natural duty. You are a true warrior with which he learns from and we hold you up on a pedestal and stand by your side with love and devotion and the utmost respect. We look forward to spending a lifetime together with you and happily enjoying it as a family.....forever and ever and ever. We love you with all our hearts.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

So far..........the transplant has been a huge success. Hunter's body has been tolerating everything that's been thrown it's way, and he seems to be feeling really, reeeaaaallly great. He's got the cells in him now of a newborn.......so I guess, in a sense - yesterday, he was born again. The transplant itself was very quick and only ran over the course of about 30 minutes. We have seen some Bone Marrow Transplants online and have been told that the actual transplant is pretty anti-climatic......and that it was, so I feel as if we weren't too disappointed. But I did feel as if it would take a little bit longer??!! Hunter actually slept through the whole thing. Geez!

They shot him up with steroids before they began to prevent any kind of reaction. His nurse checked his vitals every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes and then pretty much stayed for the rest of the time to make sure it all ran smoothly. It was very similar to a blood transfusion. They just hung the bag of cells from his IV poll and dripped them into his Broviac, which is his central line in his chest. Easy as pie.

The cells arrived a few days before at the hospital, frozen and stored in a preservative by the name of DMSO, (aka stiiiiinky, nasty, rotten oyster, smells like crap preservative). They freeze them in this simply because it does not crystalize like ice - so that prevents any kind of piercing of the bag or damage to the cells. That's a good thing. However, the room does quickly come to smell like rotten oysters and so did Hunter. We've been told that it only lasts a couple of days.

So now Hunter's blood type changes from A+ to O+ (O+ was the cord blood's - blood type), and his vaccinations that he has already had are no longer. Those vacated his body with his old marrow. He won't be able to get any new vaccinations for one year. And even then, there are only a few that his body will be able to start with. His food restrictions are pretty serious and he's limited to mostly things that are canned or cooked very thoroughly to prevent any bacteria or fungus from getting into his system. He is not supposed to eat anything from a bulk food section, (which we never really did anyway), no deli sliced meats or cheeses, (only things pre-packed), no fresh fruits or vegetables, (he can eat cooked veggies.......but they have to be cooked really, really well), no eating out at restaurants, no raw nuts, no tofu, no soft, bleu veined cheeses, no herbs, no sprouts, no poultry, no fish........on and on and on. We've also read that it's not good to light candles due to the fumes and toxins released in the air. No playing with other kids, no exposure to construction zones or areas with lots of dust. And more, on and on and on. So yes......he becomes the boy in the bubble.......who can eat nothing but canned soup. But hey.......who cares!!!!! He made it to transplant and so far he is alive and well!!

Hunter woke up about 2 hours after the transplant was complete and we were warned that he might wake up aggressive and grumpy and a little irritated due to the steroids. But........he didn't. He did demand his YouTube......Hunter's latest addiction, lots of cartoons and shorts, over and over and over. But after about 20 minutes - he was up and climbing around and dancing and singing. He was looking and feeling like a brand new baby!

So even though the transplant itself was anti-climatic...........the actual transfer of cells into Hunter's body will change his life forever. Much like all of you have changed our lives forever.

Prayer circles were formed, candles were lit, angels were summoned and chants were heard all around the world.............children were hugged tighter, people were loved longer, life was appreciated fuller............Hunter has and will continue to teach us all so much. Love what you have, hold what you love and never, never, ever.........let someone tell you it can't be done. Hunter continues to break all the rules and he will shine on like the warrior that he is and we will let him know throughout his entire life that he is an amazing human being and has brought such love and peace and joy and hope to so many. And he doesn't even know it.

This is his IV pole currently. We've been told that MANY things will be added to it in the next couple of weeks. It's already on overload if you ask me!

Hunter's new cells slowly dripping into his body.

Crashed out and snuggled the entire time.

Almost finished. Empty bag, just getting those last few cells. If you look closely you'll see the NMDP, (National Marrow Donor Program), listed on his bag. Thank you again for having, preserving and delivering Hunter's new life.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Had to get some tears out tonight. I've been gritting my teeth all day to prevent them from coming.....but they finally broke out when Zen asked how I was doing. He was laying next to Hunter comforting him and I didn't want to go over next to them where Hunter could see me, even though that's probably what I needed most. I felt guilty for feeling weak and very sad and kept telling myself that there will be no time for crying once we begin the process of the Bone Marrow Transplant. Once tomorrow comes, in my head and in my heart............I need to stay strong. But wow..........this is going to be really hard. We had only minor issues today and I feel as if that is NOTHING compared to the nightmare that we are about to experience. I'm frightened to death and I've never been so scared in my life. I started to get a little angry again as well. In fact, I got quite pissed. Pissed that this is happening, pissed that we have such an uncertain future, pissed that Hunter's life has been one battle after another, after another and he's not even 3 yet. He's such a sweet, little, innocent love and it just isn't fair. He still has no idea what he's about to endure and how scary the next 3 months to the next 3 years are going to be.

Hunter started feeling nauseous last night and it has continued throughout today. He's thrown-up a good bit and we are now back on morphine intermittently. He seems to be in a good bit of pain and it could be the side effects from the conditioning this last week finally starting to kick-in. He's been sleeping all day and only wakes up when we need to change his diapers and get his skin clean. He's miserable and uncomfortable and constantly calls out for mom and dad. We snuggle closely and with all our hearts.

Two children have been sent home in the last three weeks to go to heaven. One is peacefully already there. The pain that I feel in my body when I think about it travels throughout me with serrated knives and I honestly can't bear to think about it too long. I walked by their rooms often when they were here and have images in my head of their sweet faces. I feel as if their fight needs to be celebrated.........yet at the same time.......there is such sadness that follows....it erases all my hope. Zen and I use to make an effort to not get to know anyone else on the floor because of this one brutal truth.......some kids don't make it. But after being here now for 6 months - we can't help but acknowledge the other parents and children that are living within the same walls of hell as we are and offer some sort of smile in passing letting them know........we know exactly what they're going through.

Just as Hunter purged some ugliness today..........I feel as if I had to do the same. My anger and sadness has expressed itself and now it's time for it to be put in the trash can and saved for some other day.........like never.

We have not given up hope, we have not given up happiness and we have not given up on Hunter. We never will. He's been amazingly strong through all that he's had to go through and he will continue to fight this beast and impress us one day at a time. And that's seriously all we can do is take it and appreciate and celebrate...........one day, one hour, one moment at a time.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Radiation finished........chemo has begun. We have absolutely NO complaints as of yet. Hunter is rockin' the house and is showing us all up by handling everything like a true champion. We were told that by the 3rd day of radiation that Hunter would probably be pretty tired and might sleep a good bit..............well.........Hunter has been up to about 1am almost every night and he's in the best mood....giggling, playing, talking MORE THAN EVER and even started to crawl and stand up and use his legs!!!!! WOW! He has totally amazed us and is proving, once again, that he's not giving up. He's literally looking Leukemia right in the face right now and smiling. We couldn't be more proud. We even got a chuckle out of the doctors today when we told them that so far conditioning for transplant has been easy breezy - and seriously, compared to what we've already been through.......this week was nothing.

He started his Cyclophosphamide chemo yesterday and has to get additional fluid due to the toxic damage it can do to his bladder. We have to change his diaper every hour for 72 hours to monitor the fluid coming out to make sure that his body is flushing appropriately. He has a pretty severe diaper rash......raw butt for sure......and it's makes him pretty unhappy......but we're trying to make him as comfortable as possible and change his diaper as gently as we can. He also has an oral rinse by the name of Chlorhexidine Gluconate, (aka mouth acid), that we have to use in his mouth 4 times a day. Another time when Hunter gets quite pissy. We now have to bribe him with toys and stickers every time we rinse. I had to make an additional trip to ToysRus yesterday to stock up on goodies. They go pretty fast! But the mouth rinse is a good thing and helps prevent any kind of sores or infections that he might get due to everything his body is being put through. The mouth is an icky place and can harbor lots of bacteria!

We are getting excited that we are almost to transplant and Hunter's body seems to be pretty strong. One of the major concerns going into it about 2 weeks ago, since his body didn't really have a whole lot of time to recover from the last round of chemo. Sooooo...........today is the last day of chemo......tomorrow is his day of rest.......and he gets a brand new life on Monday. We've been told that most parents also celebrate transplant day as a second birthday and we have absolutely no problem doing that!! Who wouldn't want 2 birthdays!!!???

Me and Bean. I could hold him in my arms forever.

Hunter looking cool on one of his trips down to Radiation. He's listening to Kings of Leon on dad's iPhone......travels in style.

Monday, June 8, 2009

So Radiation today was mentally and visually crushing.......but Hunter pulled through like a stud.......as usual. He's hanging tough after 3 days of chemotherapy and 2 sessions of radiation. The doc came in and we told him how wonderful Hunter was doing and he said, "that's great", however, he also said, in a round-a-bout way, that the shit doesn't start to hit the fan until about 7 days from now. So I guess we are cruising on easy street at the moment.

He has to be sedated for the radiation and it takes about a 1/2 hour by the time they radiate one side of his body and then flip him to do the other. Pretty intense stuff and the room and the equipment inside is very intimidating. Definitely NOT a good party room.......well actually maybe....the electric green laser beams could be a hit - then I guess all you'd need is a good disco ball. However, I could tell some of the technicians were getting annoyed by all the photography.......so.....no disco for them.

His skin on his hands is peeling, he's got a bit of a diaper rash and his legs are still swollen. They don't seem to be causing him much pain, but he still hasn't walked on them or wanted to walk on them now for the last 33 days. He is also still being fed through his IV and will probably continue that for the next 2-3 weeks or so.....he's only consumed about 2 ounces of food through his mouth over the last month.

He was transfused with Platelets last night at 4am and will continue to get blood products quite frequently throughout this whole process. YAY for the Red Cross!

Hunter doing his own research on the side effects of radiation the night before. He seems to be OK with everything. He courageously stated that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Hunter casually laying around waiting for the radiation to begin.

Nicely put to sleep.

These are the crystals that they place on his body to monitor the radiation dosage throughout the treatment.

This is when they kick us out of the room. He's all prepped and ready to go. We must have kissed his little head a thousand times.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Chemo is officially running into his body and the conditioning for Transplant is underway.

For the next three days he'll be getting a chemo called Fludarabine, one that his body has never seen before. That's a good thing........look out Leukemia.

After 3 days of chemo, he goes into TBI, which is Total Body Irradiation. Hunter has never been radiated before either. Also a good thing. He'll have 4 days of radiation, twice a day for an hour each time. Whoa.

On Sunday June 14th will be his day of rest. (And a day of serious praying!!!!)

And then on Monday, June 15th, they will transplant the cord blood unit into Hunter's body with hopes that the last chemo and radiation killed every last bit of any Leukemia that might be hiding out in Hunter's body and this new marrow comes in and takes over. (Many, many, MANY thanks to Be The Match, for having the ONE cord blood unit that was eligible for Hunter's Body. You are seriously saving his life). We owe you..........BIG TIME.

After that....we have about 45 days of hell. That's when we'll be dealing with all of the toxicity that Hunter has received, any kind of organ failure, graft failure, infections, bleeding, anemia, graft vs. host, all sorts of good, fun, white knuckle stuff. (Another good time for lots of focused praying and healing white light).

The doctors have been preparing his body all week and have been running a number of tests to make sure that his body is in a place to go through with the transplant.

First he got his routine echocardiogram, which for the fist time showed permanent damage to his heart. That was a bummer. We kind of knew that was coming. But still didn't want to hear it. So I guess we'll be pushing Hunter towards his music interests instead of sports as he gets older. We're hoping for something like a music producer since he's got such fantastic rhythm and can really hold a beat.

He had his Cat Scan to check on his Typhlitis and the rest of his insides. And the good news there is that the TYPHLITIS is GONE. Hallelujah!

He had an MRI to check on his Myositis.......and that is still there???? But hopefully starts to subside soon.

He had his kidneys checked yesterday, (GFR Test)....and we are still waiting on results for that - but I am assuming that since the Fludarabine is going in to his body as I type......that his kidneys are capable of handling what's coming their way.

He had a Chest Xray to check on his lungs.....and there was a slight collapse, which they said would repair itself. It would help to get Hunter out of bed and moving around a bit more......but he's kinda not in the mood with swollen legs. However, he has been wiggling his butt off from the waist up!

And he's also had a number of blood tests to check for a whole slew of other things, which also came back positive and ready to move forward.

So Hunter's on his way to getting really, really sick..........but then he's going to eventually recover and he'll hopefully be on his way to living the life he was meant to live. He's been so, so strong up to this point, and has handled the toxins incredibly well, so everyone is extremely hopeful and very optimistic. People all over the world are rooting for him and I know he's got the strength and the courage and the endurance to pull it through. His overwhelmingly positive spirit shines on and he is on his way to becoming IRON-HUNTER.

Having a good time!

Hunter Chillin' like the cool cat that he is...

Hunter getting contrast before his Cat Scan. It's the fluid that makes all the good stuff light up once he's in the scan. He HATES contrast. We have to give him about 3 full syringes worth over the course of an hour.

Some REALLY fun video of Hunter getting his giggle on - still feeling the effects of Versed after his Cat Scan.

Buzz Lightyear was also there again getting an Xray. He's having some work done as well. Who better to share the experience with - they compared stories and battle wounds for HOURS! Hunter's one-up on him......and then some.

Getting ready for his MRI.

Put to sleep for the 2-hour long procedure.

Hunter listening to his heart himself - doubting the docs diagnosis. He says he feels just fine.

Wow baby love. I can't believe it's been a year. I can't believe I have been without my sweet baby love for a whole year.......

Healing Hunter Foundation Promo Video

The Truth 365 featuring Hunter and his Mom and Dad

Team in Training "Mission Moment" by Lenore

Lenore - many thanks & happy tears from deep in my heart go to you for allowing us a window into your life with Hunter. My motivation for TNT/LLS has never been stronger, and you have shared & motivated so many new faces this weekend. Thank you for coming to our Pacific Crest Team workout on Saturday! Hugs from Coach Michele on behalf of the team!

"Amen sweet Lenore....you + Zen +Hunter + Ryder have been such an inspiration for our family in so many different ways..... I daily, think of your courage and try to emulate your steps into every day challenges. You have been a teacher to me and our family in ways you would never even perceive..... You and Zen are leaders in this challenge we all call "life". And for that, I am so grateful that we have come to know and love you and yours".